(452)  CORPORATE HOMICIDE: THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING

The Justice Minister announced on 29 March 2005 that she would not, as previously stated in November 2004, be issuing a consultation paper on proposals to create a criminal offence for corporate and public bodies of causing death through failures of management.  Instead an expert working group would be set up to study the matter further.  This followed an announcement of a draft Bill on the subject at Westminster, intended to create a new offence of corporate manslaughter (see http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs4/con_corp_mans.html).  The further delay in Scotland was criticised by MSPs and trade unions, no doubt mindful of the ongoing Transco case (see Nos 159, 217 and 232).   For detailed discussion of the subject some years ago in the Edinburgh Law Review, see R Mays, The criminal liability of corporations and Scots law (2000) 4 EdinLR 46, and J P and A L Minkes, Mays on corporate crime: a transdisciplinary perspective (2001) 5 EdinLR 242.